Before having dinner at The Commodore last month, we dropped by Miss Thing’s (@missthingsbar) for a quick pre-dinner drink and snack. We were so impressed with the little taste that we had, we knew we had to be back for more.

According to their website, this Parkdale hotspot is a “Tropical Pan Asian Restaurant and Cocktail Bar”. While some might expect a decked out tiki restaurant or bar, the space is very tastefully decorated and far from tacky. If you’re looking for a full-out tiki bar, check out Shameful Tiki Room down the street. We enjoyed the drinks there but everything about it is over-the-top from the décor to the atmosphere. It’s also extremely loud in there as they bang on the gong and yell ‘myyyyystery bowl’ every time someone orders that drink.

The interior

Anyway, back to Miss Thing’s. The space is stunning. It features dark bluish green walls with pink and gold painted flowers, paired with beautiful brass lights and accents.

They are open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 5pm to 2am. Earlier in the evening, they seem to cater towards the dinner crowd but later in the evening, it becomes a more happening bar/club scene. When we walked by after 10pm on a Friday, it was packed to the gills with most patrons standing.

The interior

On our first visit, we sat at the bar. The bartender was extremely passionate and entertained us with stories and cocktail-making tips. The cocktails here start at $11 and top out at $15 for the barrel-aged rum cocktails. For those who like to keep it simple, there’s also a selection of wine and beer. Here’s a look at the cocktails we tried:

Disco Juice – Absolut citron vodka, watermelon juice, Thai basil syrup, lemon juice, chamostar bitters ($13). If you want something light and refreshing, this is probably one of your best bets. It’s very light and very tasty – it really does taste like juice.

Disco Juice

Purple Rain – St Remy brandy, cassis liquer, blackberry black peppercorn syrup, lemon juice, root beer bitters, egg white ($12). This is heavier than the Disco Juice but also much more flavourful. It wasn’t as sweet as it sounded and the addition of the egg white helped to lighten it up.

Flower Power – Botanist gin, Lillet blanc, Martini blanco, falernum, lavender and vanilla bitters, lemon juice, egg white ($12). This wasn’t a bad cocktail but we thought it paled in comparison to the others. It was a little too floral-y for my liking but what can you expect from a cocktail named “flower” power?

Flower Power

Chef Jasper Wu (previously of Bent and Cava) is in charge of the kitchen at Miss Thing’s and has created a menu of “contemporary interpretations of classic Pan Asian and Hawaiian dishes” according to their website. The menu consists of several sections: raw bar (oysters and salads), snacks ($8 to $12) which includes scallion flatbread and yakitori, plates ($18-$34) which include Hawaiian dishes like Lau Lau and Loco Moco and several desserts for $7 each.

On our first visit, we tried the Tempura Corn Fritters – fresh Ontario corn, sambal aioli, togarashi spice ($9). The plate was piled with light, crispy fritters packed with kernels of corn. They were well fried – not too greasy and were drizzled in a generous amount of spicy sambal aioli. It’s the perfect bar snack!

Tempura Corn Fritters

On our second visit, we ordered the Hoki Poke – ahi tuna, avocado, sesame soy dressing, tobiko, nori, served on taro chips ($12), a dish which came highly recommended by our server. I loved the addition of the tobiko which added pops of flavour in each bite but it was a touch heavy on the avocado. I’m a big fan of avocado, so it’s not a major complaint but I found that it masked the flavour of the tuna. I also thought the taro chips were a bit too delicate for the large amount of poke sitting on top of it as it fell apart on first bite. Nevertheless, it was a very tasty dish and would order it again. With four pieces per order, it’s a great sharing app.

Hoki Poke

Up next was the Shrimp Po’ Bao – fried shrimp, mango jicama slaw, lime cayenne mayo ($12) which comes with two good-sized baos per order. The plump shrimp were well fried, the mango jicama gave it some freshness and the cayenne mayo added a touch of spice. It tasted fine and there really wasn’t anything negative I can pinpoint but it just didn’t blow me away.

Shrimp Po’ Bao

The last dish we shared was the Pineapple Fried Rice – brown rice, toasted cashews, sambal mayo on half pineapple with choice of braised pork belly or sweet & sour jackfruit ($18). Served in a half-pineapple that’s been carved out, this dish certainly gets points for presentation.

Pineapple Fried Rice

Each bite was an explosion of flavours with the perfectly cooked rice, sweetness from the pineapple, the nutty cashews and that delicious spicy sambal mayo. We ordered it with pork belly, which was delicious but I wished it was more incorporated into the dish (i.e. chopped up and mixed into the rice) as opposed to large pieces sitting on top.

We had a couple fun experiences at Miss Thing’s and wouldn’t hesitate to come back for another outing. There are many more cocktails and tempting bar snacks to be had!

At a glance:

They describe themselves as a “Tropical Pan Asian Restaurant and Cocktail Bar” serving up “contemporary interpretations of classic Pan Asian and Hawaiian dishes”